The 4th International Jarek Śmietana Jazz Guitar Competition took place in Kraków on 18-20 November 2021. The festival, directed by Witold Wnuk, is usually held in June to coincide with the Kraków Summer Jazz Festival, but was moved to November [...]
Iver Cardas (Norway) has just won First Prize in the 4th International Jarek Śmietana Jazz Guitar Competition in Kraków. Born in a small town north of Oslo, music is in Cardas’s blood: his mother, Berit Værnes Cardas, plays in the [...]
The winners of the 4th International Jarek Śmietana Jazz Guitar Competition in Kraków have been announced, writes Izzy Blankfield from Kraków: First prize: Iver Cardas (Norway) Second prize: Carl Morgan (Australia) Third prize: Misha Mendelenko (Ukraine) Special prize founded by [...]
The finalists of the 4th International Jarek Śmietana Jazz Guitar Competition in Kraków have been announced. Of 16 semi-finalists, 7 players have been selected by the jury to perform in the final on Saturday at the Kraków Philharmonic. Iver Cardas [...]
Nikki Yeoh opened one of the most anticipated nights of the 2021 London Jazz Festival as she took to the stage with Café Oran, a project celebrating the music of Algerian-Jewish pianist and composer Maurice El Médioni. The London-based pianist [...]
Sara Schoenbeck’s new album of duos sees the New York-based bassoonist develop her musical voice in dialogue with friends and inspirations. ‘Sara Schoenbeck’ is released on 26 November. Sara Schoenbeck knows that the bassoon is an unexpected jazz instrument, but [...]
Andrew Cartmel, Frank Griffith and Adam Sieff are three familiar names to UKJN readers. All three have recently taken to the airwaves with their own jazz radio shows. “This was something I’d been dreaming about all my life,” writer, former [...]
“Hold on to your seats!” tenor saxophonist Alex Western-King told the audience of the packed 606 Club before his Sextet played their rip-roaring encore, Dizzy Gillespie’s Dizzy Atmosphere. With two sets packed with excitement, this advice might have come in [...]
Ten years after signing with the German ACT label, violinist Adam Bałdych is putting communication and emotion at the heart of his new album. ‘Poetry’ is released on 29 October. After more than a year without live performance, Adam Bałdych [...]
In a set that brought together some of the best musicians on the UK jazz scene, pianist Ivo Neame was joined by George Crowley on tenor sax, Tom Farmer on bass, James Maddren on drums and special guest Byron Wallen [...]
